Machen weighs in on events of '08

By Nathan CrabbeStaff writer

Tuesday

Dec 30, 2008 at 12:01 AM

The UF president spoke of budget woes, AGH, controversies and more.

From the standpoint of enrollment at University of Florida, the BCS national championship is happening at the worst time possible.If past trends are any indication, the Gator football team's appearance in the game in Miami on Jan. 8 will cause a greater percentage of accepted students to attend UF. But state budget cuts mean UF must trim enrollment next year by 1,000 students, forcing the university to reject more students to make up the difference."It means that less people will be admitted to UF," said UF President Bernie Machen.Machen discussed the dilemma as part of a wide-ranging interview about the major events of 2008. He talked mainly about the budget problems that have dominated the year, which he expects to get worse in the year ahead.He reiterated his support for UF borrowing internal funds to get through mid-year cuts that he said would disrupt the next semester of classes. But he said the money would need to be repaid starting in the next academic year, exacerbating the effect of expected state cuts."We're going to have a tough year next year," he said.Machen also discussed other high-profile events of the year, including his trip to Iran, the announced closure of Shands at AGH and the passage of a gay marriage ban that he opposed.He discussed two big controversies that faced the university: the hiring of state Sen. Mike Haridopolos and the demotion of College of Medicine Dean Bruce Kone.Kone was demoted in May as part of the fallout over the admission of a politically connected medical student and the way in which the issue was handled. Machen said he had hoped for better from Kone, who he thought would provide new leadership for the college."The tragedy, of course, is he failed as a dean and failed spectacularly," Machen said.

He said Kone's removal solved some of the problems facing the college. While he lauded interim dean Michael Good, he said a permanent dean is important in order to fill empty department chair positions. "The department chair is going to want to know who his boss is," he said.He said Haridopolos, an Indialantic Republican in the state Senate, has done well as a political science lecturer in ways such as his involvement with students.UF's hiring of Haridopolos in February for the $75,000-a-year position had drawn criticism."I think there's some great legislators that work for higher education - but that doesn't mean it always works every time," Machen said.The issue has been revived as Northwest Florida State College has faced fire for hiring House Speaker Ray Sansom, R-Destin, for a six-figure job after steering funding to the school. Machen said the state of Florida puts itself in such a position by paying legislators about $30,000 a year. "By design we're going to have people that have other forms of employment," he said.Machen threw himself into the political fray in January when he endorsed Republican presidential candidate John McCain. In the fall, he and his wife, Chris, publicly opposed a state gay marriage ban that ended up passing.He stood by both decisions, although he joked that his public stands may have actually backfired. He disagrees with the state's passage of the gay marriage ban, saying he's been a supporter of benefits for gay partners since his time at the University of Utah."I didn't do it for any reason other than I thought it was the right thing to do," he said.He said his trip to Iran in November showed him the difficulties of student exchanges between the countries. Iranian students are blocked from studying in the U.S. by difficulties getting visas, he said, impeding exchanges that benefit relations between the countries."People-to-people connections are essential if we're going to move ahead here," he said.

As for the closure of Shands at AGH, Machen said he was committed to building another facility to provide critical care for east Gainesville. He said he was exploring a partnership with a private company to develop the AGH site, although he would have preferred the university to do it alone."At better times, I was more enamored with doing it ourselves," he said.Machen praised Gov. Charlie Crist's plan to allow tuition increases that would bring UF's rate closer to the national average. He expressed optimism that the plan would pass."I think more and more it's very likely, (but) it's not a done deal," he said.Machen said UF was bracing for mid-year cuts as well as more cuts in the next academic year. He declined to comment on the university's specific plans, although he said options are being carefully considered."It's been my experience that if you make cuts quickly, you've made mistakes," he said.

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